With Maurice Mbikayi and Adeolu Osibodu, ARTCO Galerie Aachen presents two emerging artists from Africa. The works from 2018 to 2022 testify to the enormous artistic creativity of the two. Osibodu's imaginative choice of motifs and Mbikayi's use of a mix of materials make the works exceptional and worth seeing.
Maurice Mbikayi was born in 1974 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. He obtained a BA in Graphic Design in Kinshasa and completed his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town in 2015.
Mbikayi questions the proliferation of technological trade in our geopolitical system. The dependence of technology on mining, for example, has left African countries and their populations vulnerable to resource exploitation and the abuse of low-wage labour. Mbikayi collects remnants of rapidly developing technology and incorporates them into his work. This results in sculptures, works on paper, photographs and performances that relate the materials to their political context.
Mbikayi has been featured in exhibitions around the world, including Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, South Africa, the DRC and the USA.
Adeolu Osibodu, born in 1997, is a photographic artist from Lagos, Nigeria.
He began to explore photography at the age of 18. Osibodu was constantly moving between dreams and ideas at a young age. Inspired by life and his experiences, he witnesses moments in time that express a sense of multi-reality, hallucination and a sense of lost memory. Photography became his refuge and visual diary - his home.
Osibodu's work has been shown in exhibitions in Germany, France, Nigeria, Canada and the USA, among others.
Maurice Mbikayi was born in 1974 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. He obtained a BA in Graphic Design in Kinshasa and completed his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town in 2015.
Mbikayi questions the proliferation of technological trade in our geopolitical system. The dependence of technology on mining, for example, has left African countries and their populations vulnerable to resource exploitation and the abuse of low-wage labour. Mbikayi collects remnants of rapidly developing technology and incorporates them into his work. This results in sculptures, works on paper, photographs and performances that relate the materials to their political context.
Mbikayi has been featured in exhibitions around the world, including Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, South Africa, the DRC and the USA.
Adeolu Osibodu, born in 1997, is a photographic artist from Lagos, Nigeria.
He began to explore photography at the age of 18. Osibodu was constantly moving between dreams and ideas at a young age. Inspired by life and his experiences, he witnesses moments in time that express a sense of multi-reality, hallucination and a sense of lost memory. Photography became his refuge and visual diary - his home.
Osibodu's work has been shown in exhibitions in Germany, France, Nigeria, Canada and the USA, among others.
